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Anthropologists use the term Acephalous (Greek for "headless") society to refer to societies which lack political leaders or hierarchies. These groups are also known as egalitarian or non-stratified societies. Typically these societies are small-scale, organized into bands or tribes that make decisions through consensus decision making rather than appointing permanent chiefs or kings. Most foraging or hunter-gatherer societies are acephalous. Modern anarchist and libertarian socialist societies that have abolished social inequality (e.g Freetown Christiana, Anarchist Catalonia and the Kibbutz) may be considered acephalous as well.
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Cultural Anthropology Terms
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